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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24949057">The Miracle</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katybug1992/pseuds/Katybug1992'>Katybug1992</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Tumblr Prompts [139]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Men's Hockey RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Medical Inaccuracies, Teen Pregnancy, but matthew is still on the NHL track, female robert thomas, kind of non hockey player au</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 01:36:07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,954</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24949057</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katybug1992/pseuds/Katybug1992</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It felt like just yesterday that Robbi had shown up at the rink looking like she had seen a demon, asking Matthew if she could talk to him. He had put on a brave face and held her, telling her everything would be okay.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Robert Thomas &amp; the Tkachuk Family, Robert Thomas/Matthew Tkachuk</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Tumblr Prompts [139]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1139243</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Miracle</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Inspired by the episode of Roseanne "The Miracle".</p>
<p>Inspired by quoted from Roseanne and Boy Meets World</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It felt like just yesterday that Robbi had shown up at the rink looking like she had seen a demon, asking Matthew if she could talk to him. He had put on a brave face and held her, telling her everything would be okay. And he managed to keep it together when they told his parents - his mom immediately swooping in to hug Robbi and he finally let himself fall apart when his dad pulled him into the other room. He was so thankful for his parents, especially when Robbi showed up at the house with a duffle, telling him her parents didn’t want to see her at the house anymore.</p>
<p>Chantal instructed Keith to set up the room downstairs for her, suggesting that Matthew could move down there if he wanted and that the additional bedroom downstairs would make the perfect nursery. And Keith Tkachuk may have been a force to be reckoned with on the ice - and made a couple of the younger Blues players a little shaky when he would hang out at practice - but he was soft for Chantal, Taryn, and Robbi and he would do anything they asked without a second thought. Taryn had once asked for $50 for no reason and she would have gotten it if Chantal hadn’t walked into the room and took the requested money from his hand.</p>
<p>Robbi had settled into the house and family flawlessly (really, she had since Matthew first brought her over). And everyone was eager to help with everything. Brady jumped in to help assemble baby furniture - he was Robbi’s best friend and was angling for Godfather. He was the person Robbi vented to when Matthew got on her nerves (he could sympathize, Matthew regularly got on his nerves and he didn’t have the added hormones Robbi did), he was the only one besides Matthew who could calm her down (which was doubly helpful because sometimes Matthew was just as much of a nervous wreck as she was so he was no help). Brady kept her sane.</p>
<p>The first few months went okay. Although Matthew has developed a dislike for Robbi’s doctor, who entered the room for every appointment looking like she was trying to figure out if she needed to be concerned. Matthew had shrugged it off as the doctor just being concerned that Robbi was sixteen and that it was Matthew’s mom and not her own that was at every appointment.</p>
<p>Everything was going fine until about the fifth month, shortly after Robbi’s Finals, when her doctor told her she needed to go on bedrest. That the baby was healthy - a boy - but that it was a precaution - something about her blood-pressure and a high heart rate that they wanted to try to lower and keep lower. And Matthew waited until Robbi had fallen to sleep before slipping out of their room and walking upstairs.</p>
<p>“How is she?” Brady asked, standing up and ready to head downstairs if she needed him.</p>
<p>“Terrified.” Matthew replied honestly, “She cried herself to sleep. You can go keep her company...please go keep her company, keep an eye on her. I need to talk to dad.”</p>
<p>And Matthew must have looked as shaken as he was trying not to look since they talked to the doctor.</p>
<p>Brady nodded and headed downstairs. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Matthew entered his dad’s office, knocking on the doorframe to get his attention.</p>
<p>“Hey!” Walt greeted, pausing the scouting video he was watching and closing the laptop, “What’s up? How’s Robbi?”</p>
<p>“Sleeping.” Matthew replied, collapsing on the couch, “Brady’s with her right now, I don’t think she’ll sleep long. She’s shaken up pretty bad.”</p>
<p>“And how are you?” Walt leveled his son with the same assessing look he gave players he was scouting.</p>
<p>“Terrified.” Matthew let out a bitter laugh, “If I had to choose between Robbi and the baby… Dad, the minute her life is at risk...the minute the doctor came into the room with that look on her face… I wanted to ask Robbi to terminate the pregnancy. Does that make me a bad person? I mean, what does that say about me? What does that say about my parenting instincts?”</p>
<p>“It says that you’re eighteen years old and you love your girlfriend and you don’t want anything to happen to her.” Walt replied, standing up and moving to sit next to Matthew.</p>
<p>“What would you do? If it was mom?” Matthew asked, looking over at his dad, “If she was...and she could…”</p>
<p>“I would want to take whatever option kept her with me, kept her alive.”</p>
<p>“Even if it meant ending the pregnancy?”</p>
<p>“If it meant your mother would live, absolutely.”</p>
<p>“I don’t know if Robbi would let that happen.”</p>
<p>“She’s stubborn, Matthew. I’m not going to tell you that everything will be okay, because we don’t know that. But the doctor said that she’s young and she’s strong. Robbi will make it through this. But she’ll need you to be stronger than her.”</p>
<p>“I know.” Matthew replied, “I know she wants me to be honest with her, but she’s terrified right now and I can’t let her see me like that.”</p>
<p>“Well, if you ever need to be terrified, you come find me or your mom, okay?”</p>
<p>“Thanks dad.”</p>
<p>“And, I promise you, I will use every bit of name dropping I can to make sure nothing happens to Robbi or the baby.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Before they knew it, Robbi had entered month seven, still on bedrest and dreading every doctor appointment - it seemed like every time the doctor came into the room, she had that same look on her face like she was trying not to show she was worried and asked the same litany of questions. How much was Robbi eating every day? What types of food? Was she able to keep it down? How often was she throwing up? How much could she feel the baby move? How often did she feel the baby move? Was she staying hydrated? Did she get dizzy whenever she stood up for too long? How long could she stand up before she got dizzy?</p>
<p>Every appointment, Robbi left with one more dietary restriction - as a precaution - and a whole new set of worries.</p>
<p>And then she went into labor - three months early - and she was trying to keep it together but had completely fallen apart in the backseat. And Chantal had Keith pull over so she could switch spots with Matthew - kicking him out and into the passenger seat so she could do a slightly better job of comforting Robbi than her extremely pale and shaky son.</p>
<p>They reached the hospital probably faster than they should have, Brady and Taryn pulling into the parking lot shortly after, and Robbi was taken to a room - Chantal going with her and pulling Matthew along telling him, “You’re the father. You need to be with her right now.”</p>
<p>The nurses got Robbi hooked up to various machines all measuring things that Matthew couldn’t remember and he felt completely useless just holding her hand and telling her everything would be okay. He felt like a liar when his mom looked away but Matthew still saw how scared she was.</p>
<p>“Okay,” the doctor stated walking into the room, “We have a couple options. We can try a drug that may or may not stop labor. Or we can let labor proceed. The baby’s heartbeat is weaker than we would like, as is yours Robbi. It’s early, but the fetus is viable. There’s no guarantee, especially with the cardiac issues and lung development is always an issue with premature babies.”</p>
<p>“Which is safer for Robbi?” Matthew asked, managing to find his voice as Robbi tightened her grip on his hand.</p>
<p>“Both have the same risk factor for mom and baby.”</p>
<p>“If the drug isn’t guaranteed to work, we should just let labor progress, right?” Robbi responded, looking lost as she turned to face Chantal.</p>
<p>“It’s up to you, sweetie,” Chantal put on a brave face as she moved to the other side of the bed and took her free hand.</p>
<p>Robbi looked at her before nodding at the doctor who tried to put on a reassuring smile and ran through what the procedure would be from that point on.</p>
<p>“Any questions?” she asked the room.</p>
<p>“Can I have a list of the top infant cardiologist?” Keith asked.</p>
<p>“Walt -” Robbi tried to argue.</p>
<p>“No.” Keith shook his head, “I have the resources to make sure that that baby has every single chance to thrive and I’m using them.”</p>
<p>“I’ll put one together.” the doctor replied, “You might want to start making calls now. We’ll be doing an ultrasound shortly and, depending on the baby’s position, we may be performing a c-section hopefully within an hour. Based on Robbi’s heart rate and blood pressure currently, I don’t think a natural birth is a good idea.”</p>
<p>Keith nodded and followed the doctor out of the room, Chantal and Taryn following so that they could help make the phone calls.</p>
<p>“I don't know why this is happening.” Robbie looked down at her hands, resting on her bump, “I never smoke or drank and I only did drugs once.”</p>
<p>“And that was a couple years ago.” Brady replied, running a soothing hand through her hair.</p>
<p>“Maybe I ate the wrong stuff…” </p>
<p>“You're a vegetarian, you're the healthiest eater I know.”</p>
<p>“Well if it's nothing physical, then I must have done something wrong and now I'm being punished.” Robbi wailed, “If there's nothing physically wrong with me and I didn't do anything morally wrong, then nothing makes sense. What did I do to deserve this? Why was my baby being born prematurely?”</p>
<p>“You didn't do anything to deserve this,” Matthew’s voice was steady and he had the fierce look in his eyes that he only got right before demolishing someone on the ice, “You don't deserve this...our baby doesn't deserve it. It just happens.”</p>
<p>He sat down next to her on bed, lacing their fingers together and resting his forehead against hers, “You can do this, Robbi Thomas. You’ve been so strong. You’re the love of my fucking life, I’ve known that from the day we met. And you’re going to get through this, and our baby is going to make it, and we’ll be a family. Have a proper wedding once you’re back on your feet.”</p>
<p>“I’m sixteen.” Robbi reminded him gently.</p>
<p>“And I’m eighteen. Doesn’t mean anything. I know you’re it for me.” Matthew whispered, “And, whatever happens, you and I will get through this. I’m not going anywhere.”</p>
<p>Robbi kissed him lightly in response, tightening her grip on his hand, “Whatever happens?”</p>
<p>“Whatever happens.” Matthew nodded, bringing their joined hands up to his lips and brushing his lips across her knuckles.</p>
<p>Brady pressed a kiss to her head and excused himself from the room, knowing that Matthew was the one she needed and that he was officially useless right now.  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I really have a bad feeling about this.” Taryn signed, slumping in her chair as she crossed off yet another doctor on her list.</p>
<p>“Don't talk that way Taryn.” Chantal chided, handing Brady his list to call, “As Louise Hays says, you must learn to turn the negative into a positive.”</p>
<p>“There's 12 doctors on the list and we've called ten,” Brady sighed, crossing yet another name off before throwing his head back and closing his eyes as he took several deep breaths. The baby wasn’t in the right position for natural birth and the cord at risk of going around his neck. The nurses were prepping Robbi for surgery and if he felt this scared he didn’t want to know what Matthew felt like.</p>
<p>“Well maybe, then it's time we tried an alternative.” Chantal suggested, trying to be the positive one in the family.</p>
<p>“What?” Keith scoffed, “Like...acupuncture?”</p>
<p>“Well yeah, or an herbalist or a natural healer...western medicine doesn't know everything, and there are countries where they do that stuff,” Chantal replied, “...like I read that in India, they take sick people down and bathe them in holy water.”</p>
<p>“No, you're making that up, that stuff doesn't work.”</p>
<p>“Yes it does work, Keith, I read it in all of these books and they all said the same thing, it works because they believe it's going to work.”</p>
<p>“Well, I’m having a little difficulty with faith right now.” Keith replied, sinking down into the chair next to Brady, “She’s sixteen years old. She shouldn’t be dealing with this. And I don’t even know how Matthew is keeping it together.”</p>
<p>“He’s not.” Brady replied quietly, “He’s terrified. She knows it. And he’s trying to be strong for her, but he’s crumbling.”</p>
<p>“Dad!” Taryn exclaimed, “Dr. Chao is available. He’s in Chicago!”</p>
<p>Keith took the outstretched phone and began filling the doctor in as Chantal filled in some of the blanks and made the travel and hotel arrangements for the doctor.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Doctor Chao arrived in what had to be record time and was immediately shown to the Infant ICU and the Tkachuks were gathered in Robbi’s room, Matthew laying on the bed next to her with his arms wrapped securely around her. The c-section had gone according to plan, but Robbi’s heart rate and oxygen levels had dropped significantly during the operation and Matthew had almost lost his mind. </p>
<p>Currently Robbi was doped up with morphine and was drifting in and out of consciousness. Her heart rate had returned to semi-normal, and her oxygen levels were back up, but the doctor was still concerned and was keeping a close eye on her.</p>
<p>“The doctors are still examining him.” Keith said as he returned to the room, handing his wife a cup of coffee and dropping a kiss to her head before moving over to Robbi, moving the hair that had fallen over her face out of the way and setting a comforting hand on Matthew’s shoulder.</p>
<p>“How long does it take to examine a baby?” Brady asked, voice shaking, “He's only this size...sorry.”</p>
<p>“It’s okay.” Matthew whispered, pulling himself off of the bed and out of the room.</p>
<p>“I should -” Chantal made her way to follow her oldest.</p>
<p>“No,” Keith shook his head, “I got him.”</p>
<p>Chantal nodded and watched Keith follow their son out of the room before she took Matthew’s vacated spot on the bed, running a calming hand through Robbi’s hair as she whimpered in her sleep.</p>
<p>“Shh, shh, I got you, sweetheart.” Chantal whispered, pressing a kiss to the girl’s head, “I have you. Everything’s going to be okay.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Keith found Matthew leaning against the wall outside of the Infant ICU, looking through the window at the box his son was in, wires and tubes connecting him to various machines.</p>
<p>“Matthew,” Keith pulled him into a hug, holding him tightly.</p>
<p>“I don’t think I can do this.” Matthew sobbed, clinging to his dad, “I’m trying to be strong for Robbi but I’m losing it.”</p>
<p>“I know. And that’s okay.” Keith replied, resting his head on top of Matthew’s.</p>
<p>“This whole time I’ve been trying to be the man. I’ve trying to be the strong one, especially when Robbi was so… I almost lost her today and we don’t even know if - I can’t do it anymore. I can’t be the strong one right now. I just can’t. And it’s not fair. It’s not fair to Robbi - who needs me more than ever. Her heart rate dropped so much during the c-section that they thought she was gonna flatline, like they were preparing for it. And it’s not fair to our son.”</p>
<p>“Look, Matthew, I’m no philosopher,” Keith replied, pulling back just enough to look Matthew in the eyes, “But everyone knows that there's good and there's bad, okay? Nobody thinks that the bad stuff is ever gonna happen to them, and then one day, wham! – all of a sudden it does. And you think that there's no way that you can go on. But the days goes by, and another day goes by, then a week, a month, a year. And when you look back, you'll say ‘Hey, I got through this. I don't know how, but I made it’. You’ll get through this. You, Robbi, and that little boy in there. Because you’re Tkachuks and that means that you fight your way to victory. You do whatever it takes to win.”</p>
<p>Matthew buried his face in Keith's chest in response and let his dad hold him as everything he had tried holding back since that first doctor’s appointment when the doctor first made that face came pouring out of him. He hadn’t even be able to hold his son, Robbi hadn’t been able to, before they were rushing him away to hook him up to the ventilator because his lungs were too weak.</p>
<p>Keith kept his arms around Matthew even as he turned his head to look in the window and beeping machines attached to the baby. They stood there until Brady turned the corner.</p>
<p>“Hey,” he choked out, eyes red, “Robbi’s awake.”</p>
<p>“I need to get back to her.” Matthew pulled away from his dad and headed back to the room.</p>
<p>As Matthew disappeared around the corner, Brady joined his dad at the window.</p>
<p>“How are you holding up, kid?” Keith asked.</p>
<p>“Not well,” Brady replied, “I could have lost my best friend today. And now… I’m trying to think positive. Mom says that will help, Taryn says so as well but I think she’s just parroting mom because she’s only twelve. But it’s hard. I’ve never Robbi that ….”</p>
<p>Keith pulled him in, just hugging him because words never worked on him like they did his brother.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It was two days before they were allowed to see the baby. They geared up and Matthew helped Robbi into a wheelchair. The family approached the plastic pod and Matthew and Robbi each stuck one hand in the holes, both parents’ eyes filling with tears as they touched their child for the first time.</p>
<p>“Hey, Finley,” Robbi breathed out as she stroked his cheek, “Hi, baby.”</p>
<p>When the baby’s face scrunched up, Matthew gently shushed him, “You gotta save your strength, champ, so we can take you home sooner, okay? We have your room all ready for you. Uncle Brady put all the furniture together but grandpa made sure it wouldn’t collapse.”</p>
<p>“Do you wanna meet your grandson?” Robbi turned her gaze to where the rest of the family was standing a little further away.</p>
<p>Keith and Chantal moved to the other side, utilizing those arm holes to touch their grandson.</p>
<p>“His name is Finley?” Chantal’s voice was soft as she looked at her tiny grandson.</p>
<p>“Finley James Tkachuk,” Matthew nodded, eyes not leaving his son’s face.</p>
<p>“He’s got your eyes, Robby,” Chantal smiled softly.</p>
<p>“Too bad he’s got Matthew’s nose.” Brady chirped lightly, standing to Robby, arm around her shoulders.</p>
<p>“I remember when I was about 5,” Taryn spoke up, looking through the plastic at Finley, “and we were riding in the car, and I was leaning up against the door, and suddenly the door just flew open, and I was falling out of the car...I remember because I could see the road rushing right below me, so I was literally outside of the car...and out of nowhere,  Matthew- your dad- reached over and pulled me back in by my hair...and, if you ever feeling like you're falling away, you don't have to worry because we'll be right there to pull you right back in.”</p>
<p>Matthew pulled his little sister into a one arm hug, resting his chin on her head and whispering a “thank you”. She had been a champ this whole time.</p>
<p>“Oh,” Keith let out a surprised noise as his grandson grabbed onto his finger, “you've got quite a grip...I think you're a lot stronger than you're letting on.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Matthew didn’t know what woke him up, but he did know he was hungry. He hadn’t eaten much since they had arrived at the hospital. But with Robby and Finley improving drastically over the past few days, his appetite had started to return. He slipped out of the bed, counting down the hours until he and Robbi were back in their bed at home. Glancing at the clock, he saw it was eight in the morning, which meant that Robbi had gotten a solid nine hours for the first time since she entered her second month.</p>
<p>He decided to make a detour on his way to the cafeteria to check on Finn.</p>
<p>“What if I’m too old to teach him how to do all the stuff I did with the kids? I loved being able to take them out on the ice, watch them develop the same love for the game that I had.”</p>
<p>Matthew rounded the corner and saw his mom and dad at the window.</p>
<p>“You think that’s what makes you a good father?” Matthew spoke, smiling a little when both his parents jumped. His mom kissed his cheek and headed in the direction of Robbi’s room, leaving him with his dad, “I mean, yes, you taught me how to skate, how to shoot a puck, but any midget coach could do that. I mean, it was more important that you were there after I didn’t score or after a bad loss. You made me feel better. You’re always there for me, man. Just to listen to me, to give me advice. You know, to help me through stuff. Just like you have been through everything. You’re never going to be too old to do that.”</p>
<p>Keith pulled him into a hug, “Finley’s looking better.”</p>
<p>“Chao said he would feel comfortable releasing him in a couple of days.” Matthew nodded, looking at his son, “He’s a fighter.”</p>
<p>“He’s a Tkachuk.” Keith dropped a kiss of Matthew’s head.</p>
<p>It was finally the day Finley would be coming home and the whole family was excited.</p>
<p>“Don't forget the baby monitor.” Keith handed it to Chantal as she headed up to their room with a laundry basket.</p>
<p>“What're you talking about?” Chantal replied, “Robbi and Matthew will be right here in the room.”</p>
<p>It had been decided that the crib would be moved into their room for the first month or so.</p>
<p>“No, I meant for me. Because if that baby cries, I want to hear him.” Keith replied.</p>
<p>Chantal laughed but still took the baby monitor upstairs. She wanted to hear that cry as well.</p>
<p>“They’re here!” Taryn yelled out as Matthew pulled into the driveway.</p>
<p>“Is the banner up?” Keith asked, walking into the foyer.</p>
<p>“Yes!” Brady replied, putting the ladder out of sight.</p>
<p>The door opened and Matthew lead Robbi in, carrying Finley in the carrier.</p>
<p>The family cheered as they entered the living room and Robbi’s hand flew to her mouth as she took in the banner that read “Welcome Home!!”</p>
<p>“Welcome home, darling,” Chantal breezed over and hugged Robbi, kissing her temple.</p>
<p>“Thank you,” Robbie choked out, “Thank you for everything.”</p>
<p>“You’re family, kid,” Keith replied, ruffling her hair.</p>
<p>Robbi grinned in return, watching as Matthew set the carrier down and Brady and Taryn began arguing over who would get to hold Finley first, too distracted with that argument to notice Walt picking the baby up and looking for all the world like he never wanted to put his grandson down.</p>
<p>“Thank you,” Robbi whispered as Matthew wrapped his arms around her from behind.</p>
<p>“You never need to thank me.” Matthew responded.</p>
<p>Robbi smiled and turned her head enough to kiss him lightly before turning her attention back to their family - currently fighting amongst themselves to welcome Finley into the family.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I may do a series of them growing a family, with Finley growing up and Matthew in the NHL</p></blockquote></div></div>
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